By The Keystone Newspaper By Kara Armstrong
KU students and members of the surrounding community are invited to Rock the Lawn, a free concert series with performances on Schaeffer Lawn every Tuesday at 6 p.m. throughout Sept. and Oct.
Rock Ensembles I, II and III—bands comprised of KU undergraduate students—cover songs from the rock genre and its subcategories, featuring everything from Adele’s “When We Were Young” to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
“We might jump from a face-melting head-banger to a James Taylor song,” said Rock Ensemble Director, Dr. Todd Walker. “That makes the setlist very interesting and fun. I hope that we always mix it up as much as we can.”
The Rock Ensembles feature about fifty performers, with a “healthy mix” of music majors and non-music majors.
“We’re very fortunate at this university,” said Rock Ensemble Director, Dr. Kevin Kjos. “You shake a tree, and a great singer falls out.”
Throughout the duration of the concert, food is available to purchase from food trucks. Previous offerings have included Oomie ZoOmiez and the K’Town Pub.
Free giveaway prizes are also available, courtesy of the Office of Student Involvement.
In the event of poor weather, Rock the Lawn performances are canceled.
Rock the Lawn started as an every-other-week performance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We started the concerts out of necessity because there was nothing going on, especially anything live,” Walker said.
Since its inception, the concert series has occurred every fall semester, evolving in name, location and production.
Open auditions for all Commercial Music Ensembles are held each semester, usually during the first week of classes. Both music and non-music majors are invited to audition. Rock Ensembles typically look to fill 18 positions per ensemble.